Creamy Cajun Shrimp Pasta

December 13, 2020 By Steph 24 Comments

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Creamy Cajun Shrimp Pasta: Creamy pasta, shrimp with a kick, crispy air fried sweet peppers.

Looking to change up your week night dinner? Try this peppery, creamy pasta with delicious shrimp.

What you’ll need for this recipe:

shrimp (if you’re not a seafood person, chicken would work too)
penne pasta
Cajun seasoning (more about this later)
garlic powder
garlic cloves
chicken broth
fat free half and half
reduced fat cream cheese
fat free cheddar cheese
scallions
mini sweet peppers (more about these later, too!)

Help! I can’t find Cajun seasoning!

The brand I use is from La Flor, and I use it in my shrimp and cheesy grits recipe too. However, I know some people have trouble finding this seasoning blend. Cajun seasoning is just a blend of salt, pepper, paprika, cayenne pepper, and oregano. You can make your own by following a recipe like this one.

Cleaning and cooking shrimp

A lot of people are intimidated by shrimp – rest assured, it’s so easy to cook. You can either purchase frozen shrimp from the frozen section of most supermarkets, or you can go to the seafood counter and ask for fresh shrimp. To save yourself some trouble, you can ask for peeled and deveined shrimp. If you are buying frozen, chances are, you will have to peel and devein them yourself.

The shrimp has two veins, one on top and one on the bottom. If you buy cleaned shrimp from the seafood counter, one vein is removed, but one is left in. It is personal preference whether or not you want to remove the second vein. I always do. Just use your paring knife and run it down the vein and it will come right out.

Here is a quick article with photos on how to clean shrimp if you’ve never done it before.

Congratulations! The most time consuming part of this recipe is done!

Now that the shrimp is cleaned, the hard part is over. The rest is so simple! Shrimp take only minutes to cook. The rest of this recipe is easy-peasy.

Let’s get to cooking

Once the shrimp is cleaned, rinse them and pat them dry with a paper towel. Toss the shrimp with the Cajun seasoning and garlic powder, and sear in a pan with olive oil spray. Cook the shrimp for about 5 minutes, or until they are opaque and firm to the touch.

While the shrimp is cooking, boil your pasta. This dish comes together in the time it takes to boil the pasta!

Another fun ingredient I added to this recipe are the sweet baby peppers. I thought they would be a nice touch both texturally, but also for some nice flavor and a pop of color. And let me tell you – they definitely add an element of interest to this recipe.

I use about a cup of them and simply air fry them with olive oil spray and a pinch of salt at 400 for about 5 minutes, or until crispy and browned. If you don’t have an air fryer, you can use your oven for this step – or you can even omit this ingredient altogether. It’s not crucial.

After the shrimp is cooked, add the minced garlic to the pan with some more olive oil spray, and cook for one minute or until fragrant. Next, add the chicken stock, and cook for a few minutes until some of the liquid is absorbed. Next, you’ll add the half and half and cream cheese, followed by the scallions and the cooked baby peppers. Add in the cooked pasta and simmer it altogether for a few minutes until the flavors meld.

That’s it! Garnish with extra scallions if desired, and enjoy!